Chapter 223: Without Long-Term Planning, There Will Be Immediate Troubles

Compared to the corrupt armies of the mid and late Ming dynasties, the Ming army of today can be considered one of the strongest in the land. Aside from the border troops stationed in key frontier areas, the rest were concentrated in the southern and northern capitals. Although the various military garrisons and units had a large number of soldiers, they were part of the military household system, engaging in farming in peacetime and going to war in wartime, so their combat effectiveness was naturally lower. There were a total of 547 such garrisons across the country. If each one had 5,000 soldiers, the Ming army could number nearly three million, with a considerable number of truly elite troops among them.

Take Shandong, for example. The military commander there had twenty or thirty garrisons under his command, but within Qingzhou Prefecture, there were only two. The focus was on Dengzhou and Laizhou to defend against Japanese pirates. Although the Ming dynasty was strong at the time, Japanese pirates still frequently raided the coasts. Aside from Zhejiang and Fujian, the garrisons in Shandong tasked with defending against pirates were considered elite. The other military households also had complete weapons and would farm in peacetime and fight in wartime. Yet in the event of a major battle, there were still opportunities for promotion through military achievements.

However, Zhang Jue, who had spent most of his time in the capital and rarely left, looked down on the troops assigned to him by the Shandong military command. Though he had been sent on a mission by imperial order, he was not an imperial envoy, so he couldn’t parade around with hundreds of elite troops from the capital like Zhang Qian had done before. Although the Tiance Guard of the Prince of Han was formidable, he was confident that with the current emperor on the throne, even the Prince of Han wouldn’t dare rebel. Besides, removing guard status didn’t mean removing royal status—it might be restored the very next day.

With his elder brother Zhang Fu’s past friendship with the Prince of Han, wouldn’t it be easy for him to get what he wanted with a little strategy?

Even without reclamation farming, spring was originally a season when farmers toiled hard in the fields. Although wheat was growing well in more than half of the fields, other crops still needed to be planted in the remaining land. Starting from February, peas and spring garlic were sown, and by March, cotton and sorghum were planted. Even small plots of land were used to grow vegetables and fruits, with some people even planting castor beans in every available space. Thus, from the moment they left Qingzhou, farmers working hard in the fields could be seen everywhere along the way.

Due to selling several estates at a loss earlier on, Zhang Jue’s three estates near Beijing were provided to him by his elder brother Zhang Fu. These were not enough to support his needs, so when he discovered there were many cultivated fields in Qingzhou Prefecture along with large areas of uncultivated land, he became interested. He naturally asked Gao Ming, the commander escorting him, about land prices.

“Lord Zhang, if you intend to buy land, it’s not easy to find land within the jurisdiction of Qingzhou Prefecture.” Gao Ming was seven feet tall and had become a military commander by inheriting his father’s position; he was also born and raised in Shandong. “Here, the land is vast but the population sparse. No one wants to sell their cultivated land, and newly reclaimed wasteland is of no interest to anyone. As for those large tracts of wasteland, they could even be given to you for free! Take the current reclamation efforts for example—there’s a severe shortage of labor. I heard that the Provincial Administration and the Military Command are discussing how to report to the imperial court: those who can recruit a hundred people for reclamation will be granted the rank of a hundred-household officer, and those who recruit a thousand will get the rank of a thousand-household officer. This way, quite a number of people from Shanxi might come here.”

In Beijing, tens of thousands of people had moved there over time, so now the problem was not a lack of land but rather an excess of it. Thus, Zhang Jue never expected Shandong to be in such a situation. With his hopes of acquiring land to cover expenses dashed, he became disheartened. Although he held the rank of a second-rank official, his actual rank was only that of a fourth-rank official. After converting his monthly salary into silver, it amounted to only twenty-four taels. Fortunately, his elder brother had given him a larger share when the family split up, and he could also secretly invest some money. Additionally, several members of his family managed businesses. Otherwise, relying solely on such a meager salary, his entire family would truly be in dire straits.

“Lord Zhang, seems like that person by the fields over there is Lord Zhang Yue?”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jue immediately stopped his horse by pressing its flanks. Upon closer inspection, the young man in a green robe talking to several farmers on the ridge was none other than Zhang Yue. Seeing him gesturing and talking to the farmers, and recalling how he had confronted him directly that day, Zhang Jue felt angry. With a disdainful snort, he spurred his horse away.

“A vice magistrate associating with these peasants? He’s brought shame to the Zhang family!”

Zhang Yue, who was asking a old farmer questions, heard the sound of horse hooves on the official road and turned to look. He saw only over a hundred people rushing past, raising clouds of dust. He didn’t see Zhang Jue, but after thinking it over, the most likely person leading so many people along this official road toward Le’an County at this time could only be Zhang Jue. Frowning slightly, he said a few words to the old farmer and then continued walking along the ridge.

“Lord, although this reclamation effort is a good policy promoted by the Provincial Administration, why do you have to come down in person every time?”

Hearing the voice behind him, Zhang Yue replied without turning around, “Fang Qing, your Fang family has hundreds of members. There are many older than you and those of higher status. If you were chosen as the clan leader, it’s surely not because you’re a scholar, but because they believe you have real skills to lead the family out of trouble. Since that’s the case, so am I. I’m young, and others may respect me on the surface but not truly. Instead of dealing with official matters in the yamen and causing discomfort, why not come down and personally handle these tasks that others might be reluctant to do? Although the Ministry of Personnel decides on achievements, it’s the common people who judge one’s reputation. Besides, there’s Magistrate Ling and other officials in the yamen—having me or not makes no difference.”

Fang Qing, in his early thirties, was only slightly taller than Zhang Yue. He was wearing a green silk robe, and his white-bottomed black cloth shoes were ruined by the mud on the field paths. He walked with uneven steps, just like Zhang Yue. Looking rather disheveled, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly upon hearing Zhang Yue’s words, thinking that this young and successful nobleman was quite sensible. Despite his strong background, if he recklessly competed for power with the magistrate and other officials, it was uncertain who would end up suffering.

“The student heard that your previous proposals on salt affairs caused a huge stir in Beijing. After investigating, I learned that you have such far-reaching vision, not limited to the present but thinking ahead.”

“That was the idea of Magistrate Ling and me, and it’s not really that groundbreaking,” Zhang Yue sighed inwardly. He knew that the salt and iron industry had always been under state monopoly, and this trend would likely continue in later generations. His own knowledge in this area was limited. Fortunately, he had a teacher who wasn’t afraid of him taking credit. “The reason so few people are responding to the current system is that building Beijing and several military campaigns have consumed huge amounts of grain. As a result, the salt producers can’t make a profit and have fled, leading to low production. Naturally, there’s a shortage of salt.”

“That’s why you came up with several excellent strategies,” Fang Qing, not missing this perfect opportunity to flatter him, continued at length, “First, after merchants pay grain for storage coupons in border towns, if they can’t get salt that year, they can exchange it for silver coupons with the court or sell it to other merchants. Second, the court should still provide ten dan of grain per year as compensation for the producers, instead of using coupons. Third, the court should purchase any surplus salt from producers at a set price for storage. Fourth…”

“Enough, enough. I wrote those ideas myself—how could I forget?”

Zhang Yue smiled and waved his hand, thinking that the first and second points were the most crucial. If the imperial court took back the stored currency, there wouldn’t be many merchants to manage the distribution, and salt wouldn’t have to be sold at low prices to merchants after thirty or fifty years, only for them to still be dissatisfied. Farmers had ten dan of rice as capital each year, and after a year of hard work, they had something to look forward to. If they could survive, they wouldn’t flee, and production would increase. When merchants contributed grain as required, a certain amount of rice was also provided for the salt fields, thus ensuring their capital. As for the rest, it would have to come gradually.

“There are countless merchants managing distribution across the country. My suggestions might be beneficial in the long run, but for now, only your family can be helped. By imperial order, the Le’an and Shouguang salt fields sent nearly 200,000 jin of salt to the capital’s salt transport agency. Although that’s only equivalent to 500 strings, it can at least temporarily ease your current crisis. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to afford that many oxen this time.”

Hearing Zhang Yue’s words, Fang Qing quickly expressed his humility. The Fang family was large and prosperous; even if they were in crisis, they could still hold on for a few years. But they still needed to think about the future. Having reaped some benefits only to suffer a heavy setback, he was actually somewhat relieved. From the tone in which Zhang Yue spoke to the common people in the fields, he faintly sensed that this young official seemed to be wary of something, which was why he was so determined to promote land reclamation. But after much thought, he couldn’t figure out what it was and didn’t dare ask too much.

At that moment, Zhang Yue was also thinking about something else. It was said that the Jinyiwei were notorious and omnipotent, but it turned out they couldn’t find everyone. Those White Lotus Sect members hiding under the guise of Buddhist goddesses had long been under the Jinyiwei’s surveillance, and a few had been captured. Yet, those caught were only minor figures, which only alerted the main culprits. Even the woman he met at Wangjiazhuang might well be Tang Sair, but now there was no trace of her. All he knew was that she had practiced medicine there under the name of a lay Buddhist at Anqiu’s Fuqing Temple. Unfortunately, by the time he visited Fuqing Temple, she had already left.

After searching around all morning and having a simple lunch at a local household, a new batch of oxen and seeds arrived in the afternoon, forcing Zhang Yue to stay a little longer. He finalized a few important matters with Fang Qing, agreeing to have the Fang family’s embroidery shop consign some embroidery work. Suddenly recalling another possibility, he asked if there were any sea merchants in the Denglai region of Shandong and how sea travel was going.

“My lord, although the imperial court has sent officials to the Western Seas time and again, the sea ban has actually persisted throughout. Although some members of the Fang family are involved in business, they are primarily local landowners. If not for Fang Qing’s keen sense for amassing wealth, she would really not have known how to answer this question about sea merchants. ‘Because of the frequent raids by Japanese pirates in Fujian, Zhejiang, and other places, heavy troops have always been stationed along the coasts, including in Denglai. Although a few people sneak out to sea using ships, they are doomed if caught by the authorities. Aside from the three maritime administrations in Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang, which can trade with foreign countries, there are no real sea merchants elsewhere—only petty, secret activities.’”
“I see.”
Zhang Yue had thought that during the Yongle era, with Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Seas, maritime trade must have been extremely prosperous. But it turned out that trade was limited to officials only, with restrictions imposed on ordinary people. He wondered no wonder a complete sea ban was implemented after the Renxuan era—Zheng He’s sea maps were sealed away tightly, and the great Ming ships became part of history. Instead, smuggling at sea became rampant. It seemed that even if he wanted to send ships out to sea now, it was just a dream.
As the saying goes, those who don’t plan for the future will face troubles soon. But one must eat bite by bite and walk step by step; haste makes waste.